CLEARWATER, Fla. — Not every baseball player would be open to a position change, especially not after just completing their first full year in the majors, but that's not Cody Asche's attitude.

When the Phillies approached the third baseman earlier this year, he was very open to the idea of beginning to work out in left field as well. He reported to Clearwater early and began drills in the outfield.

"I want to be as versatile as I can," Asche said. "I want to play this game as long as I can. You don't want to close any doors early in your career. As long they have an open mind and I have an open mind, why not?"

Still, Asche didn't spend a majority of his time in the beginning of February on outfield work. He estimated that he spent twice as much time at third than in the outfield before team workouts began.

"It wasn't too much in-depth stuff," said Asche. "It was just really a crash course on the basics of it."

The Phillies have a dilemma on their hands, with another third baseman, prospect Maikel Franco, in camp and nearing the time when he'll be ready to join the major league squad. No matter how well Franco performs this spring, the Phillies will likely keep him at Triple-A, at least to begin the season.

If Franco spends about two months in the minors, it will keep him from accruing enough major league service time to reach free agency in 2020, delaying it until the next year. It takes six full years of service for players to gain free agent rights.

When it comes time for Franco to play third at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies still want to be able to utilize Asche's bat. Eventually moving him to left field — a spot they didn't receive much production from last year — when Franco receives the call-up would achieve that goal.

But for now, Asche is the starting third baseman for the Phillies.

"He'll get 95 percent of his work at third base [during camp]," manager Ryne Sandberg told reporters last week. "I want him to be ready to play third base on Opening Day."

Asche could get limited time in left during a late spring training game, however, he said he has not been approached about the possibility.

Starting to learn a new position wasn't the only difference for Asche this offseason. He made sure his diet was healthier, too.

He said he didn't really change things, just became more strict, and at first said he owed it to his body, wanting to stay young and healthy as long as possible.

Asche later admitted that getting married in early January — his wife, Angie, is a registered dietitian — also played a large part in that decision and made it easier to execute.

"One hundred percent easier," Asche said. "If it wasn't for her I wouldn't do any of that stuff. I would eat [unhealthy things] all the time. For sure, it's mostly on her shoulders."

No matter what position Asche ends up at, former Phillie Mike Schmidt, who is back with Philadelphia this spring as a guest hitting instructor and has been working the 24-year-old, thinks he'll be successful offensively.

"He's a hard worker, very likable, sucks up any information he can get and tries to apply it," said Schmidt. "He knows that this should be his breakout year, there's no excuses in terms of experience. He works hard every day and puts in a good day's work. No one would ever question anything about him. He's got a great career ahead of him."

Last year, Asche hit a solid .252 with 10 home runs and 46 RBIs.

Schmidt thinks Asche can do much better than that. He doesn't see him as the middle of the order guy, but believes he can be a .275 to .300 hitter with 15 to 20 home runs and 75 to 80 RBIs a year.

To achieve that, one of the things both Schmidt and Asche said they are working on is hitting line drives and keeping the ball out of the air.

"That's what I teach and Cody has bought in," said Schmidt. "But then again, we haven't been to a game so you gotta see. … It's like the old taking it from the driving range to the first tee thing."

But one thing Asche learned from his first full season is fine tuning doesn't end with spring training. It's key to make those modifications as needed all year.

"It's a long season, for sure," said Asche. "There's a lot of adjustments that have to be made throughout the year. The quicker you can do that, the more you're going to stay out playing and not have those drastic ups and downs."